My sword.

"I see, but can we leave in the morning?" Howard lazily asked, "I mean with her here I am assuming your aunt already knows and it's soon before everyone knows, so what's the point of even escaping like this in the middle of the night? With no vision in the water, not even knowing where to go."

"Important things!" Steve waved the notebook around, "So yeah, we do want to move out quickly."

"Yes, the quicker we end this battle the easier it is." Diana said, "As for which direction we have to go, I have a hint."

"Fine! Jesus are you in love with me or something stop staring so much." Howard followed Diana out as he continued to tease and argue with Artemis.

They sneaked around the same route Diana took him before as they reached towards a boat that was prepared for them. As they prepared to sail, Howard turned back as with a heavy sigh he said, "Told you they'll know."

Diana noticed something too as she looked back as well, soon after several women riding horses including the Queen and Antiope came towards them. Diana nodded at them as she went towards her mother.

"I'm leaving, Mother." Diana said with her head held up high determined on what she was about to do, "I cannot stand by while innocent lives are lost. If no one else will defend the world from Ares, then I must. I have to go."

"I know." The queen said, "Or at least I know I cannot stop you. There is so much... so much you do not understand."

"I understand enough." Diana said, "That I'm willing to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Like you once did."

"You know that if you chose to leave, you may never return."

"Who will I be if I stay?"

"I am proud of you and your decisions.", Antiope came forward as she took Diana's hand, "A warrior must choose their path so make sure to see it to completion."

Diana nodded as Hippolyta came forward too.

"Be careful in the world of men, Diana." She said holding her dearly, "You've been my greatest love. Today, you're my greatest sorrow."

The Queen let go and Diana returned to the boat as they sailed away.

"Heavy stuff, huh." Howard said breaking the awkwardness, "Now that I think about it how much do you know about the world of man, Diana?"

"Not much, I've only read books and heard stories," Diana said,

"So you've created delusions, huh." Howard nodded shrugging it off as he laid back down.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Howard shook his head as he looked toward Artemis, "You see, your aunt Antiope has set up a deal with me."

Diana looked towards them as Howard continued, "I show you the way our world works and take care of you until you complete your mission and then help you settle, so I am hired to be your guardian angel to help you adjust in our world."

"And what do you get in return?"

"Her." Howard said as he waved around a broken steel pipe in his hands which was just broken off by Artemis, "I will be getting a bodyguard."

"Artemis, you..."

"It's okay, Princess Diana," Artemis said reassuring her, "We all have to our destiny. You're strong enough to protect yourself so you wouldn't be needing me around forever and I still need to do something in the World of men, since I won't be able to return back home either. We don't know much about the current world and we need someone in power to help us achieve our goal."

"I am guessing those aren't your words, are they?" Howard snickered, "I mean, you don't look to be the understanding intellectual type."

"You still have to prove to me that you're someone worthy of protecting." Artemis didn't back off either, "Otherwise I might slack off doing my job."

"And what will become of me? Maybe I'll die?"

"I don't understand this either, you're immortal so why do you need someone to protect you?"

"It's because I am immortal." Howard said, "I am strong but not strong enough. Even currently there are normal people out there that can capture me or hold me down if they set up a plan perfectly. Conduct twisted experiments and so forth... so me being a defense type, you can imagine me as a shield. I can take anything that's thrown at me but a shield alone isn't enough in a battle. I need a sword. And who's more worthy than an immortal redhead who can break thick steel pipes in half to be my sword. It's too much of a good offer for me to refuse."

"You need someone to defend and fight for you?" Diana titled her head.

"Yeah, just because I can't die doesn't mean I don't feel pain." Howard said, "And don't get me wrong, I was thinking of helping you get to the battlefield anyway as part of the deal you made with Steve but if I am getting a reward for it, who am I to say no."

All of them in the boat understood that things weren't as simple but unknown to them, Howard understood the red head's potential. She was someone who didn't lose much compared to Diana herself, a woman strong enough to destroy and protect, without the whole destiny of justice following her around. Howard was serious when he said, that Artemis was good enough to be his sword but her potential and loyalty needed to be cultivated slowly. So for now, the best he could do was accept Antiope's proposal.

While Diana was having a conversation with her mother, Artemis explained the things to him and he agreed without much hesitation. After all, there wasn't much choice. Why deny something when it's been given to you for free. After they leave Themyscira, their loyalty as a soldier amounts to nothing more than just an empty promise so why not take advantage of this situation and have a powerful ally by your side. He had to acknowledge that Antiope was a worthy general, as she had set up a nearly perfect deal for him. And he can still find the underlying threat, within the deal. After all, Artemis was strong enough to capture him.

He already had Diana on his mind from the get-go, but Diana was harder to control and a bit too emotional. He needed someone who could follow him and his orders, and Diana with the pride of a princess certainly wasn't the type to do so. So what better than a soldier given to him for free with a vow to protect him.

"Okay don't get so mopey on me. I am not forcing anyone here." Howard sighed, "We can talk about all this later, so let's focus on the situation on hand. Steve, when we reach London, you'll head directly to your superiors to deliver them this note. I'll provide a translation for you so make up an excuse about it. In the meanwhile, I'll take these two ladies with me as I can't have them running around in the city in armor with swords and shields on their hands."

"Gotcha on that." Steve nodded.

"I'll have my men pick you up soon after and we can discuss what we will do hearing what the higher-ups have to say about this situation." Howard said, "Also remember to not talk about the Island or these girls unless you want people to think you're wrong in the head."

"What about the battle?" Diana asked, "We need to head to the war. So we can stop Ares."

"Your aunt entrusted you to me so for now follow my lead, will you." Howard said, "Even if it's a normal battle against normal humans, I wouldn't go in without a plan and we're currently dealing with a god of war, whose potential we don't know anything about. You guys heard stories of him and for us, he might as well not exist so you see how it's difficult for me to just throw you two in a battlefield and expect you to complete your job when even you aren't sure in which part of the world he might be."

"So you're talking about having a strategy?"

"Yes."